Microgrids: More efficient power

As the Senate negotiates a climate and energy bill, modernizing the electric grid should be part of this historic conversation. New energy legislation needs to address what could be the best method for transforming the U.S. electricity system: smart, green microgrids.

Congress understands that our inefficient power system is polluting the atmosphere. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. carbon emissions result from electricity, making it a primary contributor to global warming — even more than carbon generated by transportation.

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The Hill discussion is now focusing on a utility-only bill — with draft proposals from Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). This underlines the critical role that smart microgrids can play in capping greenhouse gas emissions on a local level using clean power generation.

Legislators can ensure reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the strain on large, emission-heavy power plants with smart microgrids. They are connected with — and also supplement — the bulk power grid by improving its performance.

Cities like Austin, Texas, Naperville, Ill., and Leesburg, Fla., already own and operate microgrid-like electricity systems that are more reliable, and system improvements are due to allow residents to manage their consumption, increase efficiency and lower overall costs. Meanwhile, privately developed microgrid distribution systems are up and running in places like the Illinois Institute of Technology and military bases, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where state regulatory barriers do not exist. Smart microgrids can generate, distribute and regulate the flow of electricity to serve the needs of specific consumers. Operating on the local scale, they can help make electricity distribution more efficient and reliable. They are designed to meet specific local goals — like carbon reduction, diversifying energy sources or cost reduction — set by the community, business or military base they serve.

Yet smart microgrids remain the missing link in the discussion about climate change. By viewing these technology-rich systems — which can maximize use of renewable energy — as too small or too new, Congress is missing what could be the best approach for achieving President Barack Obama’s energy and environmental goals.